Medtronic vs tandem

Technology & Management
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As Dennis described, there’s no need to refill the infusion set tubing with every site change: after insertion of the new set, just discard the tubing from the new infusion set and connect the existing tubing to the new site, then do a cannula fill.

A missing element in the “Medtronic vs Tandem” discussion is that Medtronic is essentially a monopoly that has actively driven its competitors out of business, including Animas, Accuchek, Snap, Cozmo over the last decade. Choosing Medtronic is essentially a decision to have fewer choices, less competition, less innovation, and higher costs to stay healthy in the future.

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Are you using the same 670G I am. Medtronic CGM is a complete failure. Constant bg requests. calibrations, and sensor failures . What’s worse is it’s not accurate with all that checking. My pump will often read 180 with the meter at 240. Or pump will wake me up with a suspend on low when the meter reads 105. I keep working with medtronic but it’s not getting much better.

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Wow, I am so sorry you are having such a poor experience. It’s a good thing there are options as we are all so different (thank goodness). I hope you can find the right solution for you.

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Both companies are now offering 30 day free trials
I was offered this buy both the Tadem rep and my Metronic rep

I have been T1D for 59 years and on a Minimed Pump for I do not remember how long

With everything I have read I decided to go with the Tandem Dex 6

I just made this decision and signed all paperwork 3 days ago haven’t received anything yet

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Hi! I recently switched from Medtronic to Tandem!

I used Medtronic for 18 years and 2 weeks ago I switched to Tandem. I’ve felt for the last few years that Medtronic has been “behind in the times”. Medtronic is the industry leader and they’ve never had a lot of competition. In fact, they’ve bought out other companies that have come into the market. I think that’s why they haven’t had to try very hard when it comes to coming out with new pump features - there’s nobody to compete with!

I absolutely love the Tandem and it does so many things better than Medtronic in my honest opinion. No pump is perfect, but Tandem is doing things NOW that Medtronic is announcing they will start doing in 2021 or even later. I’m worried that Tandem will eventually get bought-out by Medtronic. You see, Medtronic only got color screens within the last few years, even though smartphones have had color screens for … what? 15 years at least?? I feel that Medtronic has never needed to really stretch themselves since there were no worthy competitors. But then Tandem came and actually interviewed T1Ds and our doctors and gave us the features we’ve needed and wanted! They unleashed a pump with Bluetooth updates (that’s what sold me). Nothing is worse than getting a new pump only for it to be out-of-date 6 months later (then you have to wait, like, 4 years to upgrade).

What I love about Tandem:
It pairs with the Dexcom (let’s be honest, the Medtronic Guardian CGM was never very accurate, at least not for me … and I’m sick of fingersticks!)
It has Bluetooth updates (instead of getting a new pump every 4 years or so, you can just update your pump with new features! AWESOME! Medtronic won’t do this until at least 2020).
The overall look of it is more like a phone or music device than a pump, which is great for people who are sick of getting questions like “What is that??” I also like the look because it looks modern and the Medtronic 670G still looks like, well, a pump. It still has buttons! Smartphones haven’t had buttons in, like, a decade!
The size is a dream come true! It’s SOOOO discreet!

The threshold suspend on the Medtronic pump I had was so horrible, I disabled it. The suspend feature (called “Basal-IQ”) on the Tandem has been life-changing for me. No more lows at night! I don’t even worry about lows anymore!

My doctor said most of his patients are on the Medtronic 670G and according to him, “The basal auto-mode is pretty bad … my patients actually have to LIE to their pumps to get it to do what they want it to do!”

All of this said, the only thing I miss about Medtronic was the equipment (the quickset infusion site was better than the Tandem’s AutoSoft 90). I also miss how much easier it was to change my Medtronic pump.

But overall, I’m happy with my Tandem. In fact, my grandmother who is also a Type 1 got a Tandem last week after seeing how great mine has been. I used to have lows several times a day. I’ve had one low in 2 weeks. I love the Tandem!

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Ruth Clevenger PWD Member Blood
sugar 1739 at diagnosis. I find Insulin not working as well after 3 days so have to change even if enough insulin to go longer. I assume it is from my body heat. Anyone else have that? I am waiting for my new Tandem pump to be approved. Would love to do what
Dennis does with fill the Tandem cartridge and use until empty.

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@Ruthclever Hello Ruth and welcome to Type One Nation. The information label for fast acting insulin includes a verification that insulin, in a pump, is supposed to stay effective for 3 days (max). It is due to both heat and to “agitation”. The fragile protein breaks down in both the heat and the shaking over time. This isn’t for just the Tslim, it would be for all pumps of any kind. cheers!

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Hi Ruth @Ruthclever, the way that I successfully [usually] am able to “fill the Tandem cartridge and use until empty” is that I don’t put the full 300 units in the cartridge; 300 units would carry me through four infusion sets now that my insulin needs have diminished- greater sensitivity as I age.
I usually fill the Tandem cartridge to the minimum for a successful fill which usually lasts me just over the three days that I like to keep in an infusion set. The heat may slightly degrade the insulin but not significantly - I live in sunny and often hot Florida and spend 10 hours every day outside. The only time I put more than 250 units in a cartridge was when I traveled in northern USA in the winter and had frequent flights on COLD aircraft and sitting in drafty over-cooled airports.

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Thank you, Dennis, for helping. I am 45 years diabetic and sensitive to insulin. I average 18 units a day of insulin, 8.125 as basal. What is the Tandem minimum fill amount that is best? My Medtronic usual fill is about 62 units for 3 days. I am waiting for my Tandem pump order to be completed. Will I be able to use the Tandem and only fill my small amount?

I also live in hot sunny Florida but am only outside about one hour a day. I find when I walk at a moderate pace about 7pm my blood sugar can drop 100, possibly due to gastroparesis. Bolus for dinner is about 5:30. Will the Tandem pump help stop this?

Ruth Clevenger

Cleverto@icloud.com

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Ruth @Ruthclever the Tandem written material state that the minimum “cartridge fill” is 120 units although I’ve had success new cart loads with less than that. I find after using Medtronic pumps and reservoirs for years that the Tandem cartridges are much more complex to fill - no where near the simple Medtronic but overall, I prefer the Tandem t-Slim.
The basic Tandem algorithm and the flexibility of the profiles might help you with that after dinner drop; plus the ability to set either a reduced basal rate or suspend basal altogether. A feature I like and have used on my “Activity” profiles is being able to include a “0” unit per hour basal rate - I use this feature cautiously.

I’m in the Bradenton / Sarasota area of Florida - been here full-time since 2000 and since I retired in 2010 I’ve spent a lot of time outside; bike, walking plus eating breakfast and lunch on the lanai and sitting out to read in the evening.

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Ruth Clevenger, pwD, Member with T1D. Thank you, Dennis, for answering my many questions as I get ready to go on the Tandem pump. I have no idea when I will get it, started the process May 10. I live near Ocala since retiring here in 2014.

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I wonder if the site itself is a problem as well. If I go past 4 days, my body starts to reject the infusion set cannula.

Perhaps insulin isn’t as “effective”(either temporally or potently) when it’s having to pass through pus and your immune system’s response to get absorbed? With each passing day, you’re going to have a greater reaction at the site.

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Nice meeting you Ruth @Ruthclever, at this point I think I figured out all I can with the t-Slim. I spoke once with the Tandem “trainer” but because of schedule [the trainer had to go to the Tandem Cali. headquarters for a meeting] I didn’t get any hands-on training - and I’m fine with that. Message me if you have questions, I’ll be happy to talk you through what I know.

My pump only communicates with G6 and because of Medicare I’m using G5 so until November [?] when I upgrade I won’t be able to help with Basal IQ or Control IQ features. I manually perform the Basal IQ feature.

Before my pump arrived I downloaded the Tandem t-Slim demo app on an Android tablet and practiced using all the keys, setting up profiles and receiving and reacting alerts; it even gave me “missed bolus” alerts for the breakfast the next morning when I didn’t enter my meal carbs and dose. I had read most of the User Manual before I ordered the pump so I may have already known

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Hi all! I’ve been a T1 for about 16 years. I used a medtronic pump for about 12 of those. My dexcom and minimed paradigm combo got me through high school and college. I loved everything about it. I was convinced to switch from Dexcom to the Medtronic CGM because of their ‘amazing’ AutoMode feature on the latest pump. And that was when I learned that a pump is only as good as the CGM it is paired with. Especially if that pump is making decisions based upon what your CGM glucose is reading. It was so inaccurate. Readings in the mid 100s compared to a meter reading in the mid 240s and opposite as well. Waking me up saying I was 40 when my meter was low 100s. I felt as though I was running way higher than I ever had before. And this was verified by an increase in my A1C that I had not seen in the last five years. I gave it over six months of trying. And then I paid out of pocket to go back to my Dexcom and upgrade to the latest model. That is when I decided I will go with whatever pump is working with Dexcom. I’m receiving my Tandem pump in the mail this week. I know that I will have to get used to the different site/cartridge. But I’m hoping that Basal IQ will be a better version of what Medtronic’s AutoMode attempted to be simply because Dexcom is a more accurate CGM. And that will make up for everything else.

P.S. you really can’t beat ten days and NO CALIBRATIONS.

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Basal-IQ is not designed to be an automode like the 670. It’s a low glucose suspend algorithm just like the one on the 670 when in manual mode. You might be thinking of control-iq which has not been released yet.

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Over a month ago I switched to Tandem after using a Medtronic pump for 20 years. I so agree with @JKKS. There is so much to love about the pump. One of my favorite is the ability to set the “Insulin Duration” exactly (hours and minutes). Medtronic has had this but only allowed me to set it in hour increments with the pump I was using. My insulin duration is around 2 hours and 30 minutes. This makes the “Insulin on Board” calculation precise with the Tandem where as the Medtronic was useless as I had to choose to set it to 2 hours or 3 hours. The Tandem allows you to set an exact duration. If I find my insulin duratin is 2 hours and 20 mintures I can set it to this. Fantastic ! I also agree with JKKS in that I SO miss the Quickset. I still prefer them and it would be a big bonus if Tandem came out with a version of the Quickset. Doing a set change definitely is more time consuming but I am expecting as I do it more often I will be able to reduce the time it takes to do one.

Lastly, Tandem customer service is the best customer service I have ever had to deal with in the Diabetes industry. Even Dexcom which was great has gone down hill terribly after they moved the lion’s share of their support to Mexico and the Phillipines. Medtronic uses off shore support too and it was terrible and exhausting to deal with. Tandem uses WELL trained reps who are in San Diego and Boise, Idaho who all have had excellent knowledge of the product. In addition to getting my questions answered and problems solved every single time I have called I have learned some great tidbit of information.

I am risk-adverse so this was a big change for me but after being a couple months in I am not regretting it. Now only if I could use the QuickSet for my infusion set then it would be a perfect 10.

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Hi @Scott, welcome to TypeOneNation. Your post got stuck so sorry for the delay in publishing your reply. Hope to see you around the forum.

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@Scott, Welcome to the JDRF TypeOneNation Forum - good to see you posting.

In another three weeks, I will have used my Tandem for a year after having used MiniMed pumps for more than 15 years and I agree with your analysis - almost. The ability to easily see IOB combined with the ability to set exact measurements and time periods is really a major advantage over the Medtronic pumps I’ve used.

I disagree with your thought on QuickSet - although I really liked the GuickSet. I find the Tandem “connect / disconnect” to be a better connection and the audible “click” assures me that it is tight; even easier to use one-handed. The feature I don’t like is the cartridge fill procedure is more difficult than the simple and positice Medtronic reservoir. From what I understand, Tandem decided on the slim cartridge rather than the fat reservoir so that the entire pump could be compact - also because of the rechargeable battery size.

Since upgrading to the Dexcom G^, I’ve fallen in love with the Tandem Basal IQ - now I’m wanting the Control IQ which was approved last week.

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I know that this is late from when the question was asked I have been using the Medtronic 670G system with its Guardian sensor 3 for a couple years now. I have had more headaches and having to replace the sensors way too often because they bend or just don’t work because I bled a little bit. Medtronic will send a replacement sensor, but having this happen so often is very stressful. I am not able to use my cgm at the moment while at my volunteer shift at a college since in order to get the sensor to work again I have to put the transmitter onto the charger for a minute and then select that it is a new sensor and wait 2 hours to calibrate. My blood sugars have been high now because I am unable to constantly keep testing my bg to see where it is at to know if I need a correct dose of insulin. Medtronic has good pumps, but the sensors need more work. I am switching to the Tandem tslim with the Dexcom G6. Sorry for the long post. Which one did you go with?

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@Merrie72 Hi Merrie and welcome to the JDRF TypeOneNation Forum.

Your reply wasn’t “that late” and we are always wanting to hear what everyone is experiencing while trying to manage diabetes. Honest assessments, like what you posted, will help other PWD make decisions for their own diabetes management.